The present invention relates generally to multidimensional imaging using lenticular lenses, and more particularly to a method for manipulating a planar multidimensional image so that when viewed through a lenticular lens the image can be viewed on a curved surface with little, if any, distortion.
Successful sales of a product depend not only on the quality of the product itself, but also on the uniqueness of the advertising for the product. Advertising takes many forms and spans many media, but often, the best advertising is on the product itself or on its packaging. To improve sales, bright color schemes and glitzy decor are often utilized to call potential customers"" attention to the product. Recently, lenticular lens technology, which allows for multidimensional imaging on a two-dimensional, or planar, surface has come into increasing use in product and point-of-purchase displays.
Lenticular lenses are well-known and commercially available. Methods for using lenticular lens technology are described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,113,213; 5,266,995; 5,488,451; 5,617,178; 5,847,808; and 5,896,230 (all of which are incorporated herein by reference).
Lenticular technology is already in use on a variety of items, such as: promotional buttons, magnets, coasters, collectibles, display posters, signs, menu boards, packaging on boxes, postcards and business cards. Lenticular technology is also in use on point-of-sale materials such as product labels and the like. These applications have a common characteristic in that the lenticular technology has been applied generally to planar or flat surfaces.
Indeed, the results when attempting to apply lenticular technology to curved surface have been less than desirable. Those skilled in the art have found that when attempting to apply lenticular technology to such curved applications, the viewer, when viewing at a predetermined viewing distance, experiences distortion. This distortion might take any of a number of forms, e.g., from seeing different images at different viewing angles (i.e., banding), to experiencing blurring or bleeding of the image. If these problems were solved, the underlying image would appear to the viewer as one continuous band, rather than the viewer experiencing multiple, broken, or banded images.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,226 to Rosenthal (which is incorporated herein by reference) describes a lenticular optical system in which image lines are compressed so that a curved image changes as a whole. Rosenthal discloses a drawing of an image on a curved, i.e., cylindrical, surface. Rosenthal teaches aligning each image line under a corresponding lenticule. Aligning the image lines equally under the lenticules creates a narrow viewing band that follows the viewer as the cylinder is turned or if the cylinder is stationary, as the viewer moves around the cylinder. Rosenthal, however, fails to describe the significant difference in optical properties of a simple curved surface and a cylindrical surface. For example, proper imaging to a curved geometric surface requires manipulating the interlaced image based on multiple variables. The variables are dependent on the curved surface. Additionally, each variable is dependent upon the shape of the surface to which the image will be applied.
What is needed, therefore, is a method for applying lenticular technology to curved surfaces so that the viewer, when viewing the multidimensional image, experiences little, if any, image distortion. To this end, a method is required for manipulating an image so that when it is applied to a curved, e.g., a frustoconical, surface and viewed through a lenticular lens, the image is substantially free of distortion. Therefore, the desired three-dimensional effect is achieved for the viewer when viewing the image at the appropriate viewing distance.
In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for applying multidimensional imaging using lenticular lenses to a curved surface, e.g., a frustoconical or parabolic surface, such as the type found in various packaging, point-of-purchase displays and other forms of advertising. The invention allows a viewer to see the image from a predetermined distance without experiencing significant image distortion. The method is predictable and reproducible, and thus it decreases the variance from project to project and this, in turn, decreases production costs.
These benefits are achieved by a method for preparing an interlaced image for application to a curved surface, the interlaced image comprising two or more frames, such that when the interlaced image is viewed through a lenticular lens, the lens comprising a plurality of lenticules and having a base resolution, from a predetermined viewing distance, the interlaced image is viewed substantially free of distortion, the method comprising the steps of:
A. Determining the base resolution of the lens;
B. Determining a resolution of the lens when the lens is configured to conform to the curved surface;
C. Manipulating the interlaced image, the image comprising interlaced segments, to conform with the resolution of the lens as applied to the curved surface such that the lenticules of the lens are in correspondence with the segments of the image; and
D. Outputting the interlaced image for application to the curved surface.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a substantially flat, composite blank is provided for the construction of an article having at least one curved surface, the composite blank comprising:
A. a substrate having first and second opposing surfaces;
B. an interlaced image; and
C. a lenticular lens sized and shaped to overlay the substrate, the lens comprising a plurality of lenticules, the lens having
(i) a first flat surface, and
(ii) a second opposing surface comprising lenticules,
with the proviso that the image is carried on the first flat surface and that the lenticules of the lens are in correspondence with the interlaced image such that the image can be viewed through the lenticular lens by a viewer at a predetermined viewing distance from the image with minimal, if any, distortion.
In still another embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for making a substantially flat, composite blank for the construction of an article comprising at least one curved surface, the method comprising the steps of:
A. printing an interlaced image to one of a lenticular lens and a substrate such that the image is in correspondence with the lens;
B. cutting the lenticular lens to a shape corresponding to the shape of the article projected in a planar configuration;
C. applying an adhesive to at least one of the substrate and the lenticular lens;
D. applying the cut lenticular lens to the substrate to form a composite blank precursor; and
E. cutting the composite blank precursor to a shape corresponding to the article projected in a planar configuration to create the composite blank.
In another embodiment, a substantially flat lenticular blank for configuration into a curved surface is provided, the lenticular blank comprising:
A. an interlaced image;
B. a lenticular lens comprising a plurality of lenticules, the lens having
(i) a first flat surface, and
(ii) a second opposing surface comprising lenticules, and
C. a coating layer;
wherein the image is carried on the first flat surface such that the lenticules of the lens correspond with the interlaced image so that the image can be viewed through the lenticular lens by a viewer at a predetermined viewing distance from the image with minimal, if any, distortion when the image is configured into the curved surface.
In yet another embodiment, a method is provided for making a substantially flat lenticular blank for configuration into a curved surface, the method comprising the steps of:
A. affixing an interlaced image to a lenticular lens such that the image is in correspondence with the lens;
B. applying a coating layer to the image; and
C. cutting the lenticular lens to a shape corresponding to the curved surface projected in a planar configuration.
And in another embodiment, a method is provided for making a substantially flat, composite blank for the construction of an article comprising at least one curved surface, the blank comprising at least one lip to facilitate the construction of the article, the method comprising the steps of:
A. printing an interlaced image to one of a lenticular lens and a substrate such that the image is in correspondence with the lens;
B. applying an adhesive to at least one of the substrate and the lenticular lens;
C. mounting the lenticular lens to the substrate;
D. cutting a portion of the lenticular lens;
E. cutting the substrate along a desired perimeter to form the composite blank; and
F. removing a portion of the lenticular lens.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description and the drawings.